Women seriously injured in accident on U.S. 12

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The Daily Reporter - Coldwater, MI

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Posted Aug. 1, 2014 at 7:26 AM

Posted Aug. 1, 2014 at 7:26 AM

Coldwater, Mich.

By Don Reid

dwreid@aol.com

BRONSON TOWNSHIP — Two women suffered serious injuries Thursday and were flown via medical helicopters from the scene of an afternoon automobile accident on U.S. 12 between Carpenter and Deer Park roads.

The wreck occurred around 3:30 p.m. when the driver of an eastbound Ford F-150 pick-up crested a hill and found a John Deere combine on the other side coming into his lane while pulling over to allow traffic to pass.

The driver of the pick-up, a man from Bronson, said he tried to brake, but could not stop and struck the front left of the farm machine, which propelled his truck into the lane of oncoming traffic.

Three women from Sturgis who had spent the day in Coldwater shopping and having lunch were headed home, traveling westbound in a Chevrolet Cruze. The small car went under the back of the Bronson man's truck, tearing out the car's back left wheel axle and differential before the Cruze careened off the right side of the road and into a ditch, witnesses said.

The pick-up truck continued spinning down the highway, eventually coming to a safe stop. The driver was shaken, but uninjured.

The driver of the Cruze was trapped in the vehicle and had to be cut from the car by Bronson firefighters using the Jaws of Life. The backseat passenger suffered serious injuries even with side airbags.

Both were flown from the scene to Kalamazoo hospitals by West Michigan AirCare and Samaritan Air from Fort Wayne, Indiana after Burr Oak Fire Department personnel set up a landing zone on the roadway.

The third woman — the front seat passenger — was taken by LifeCare ambulance to the Community Health Center of Branch County in Coldwater for treatment of neck and internal injuries.

The combine driver stopped for a few minutes after the accident happened, then drove off after two Consumers Energy workers went to aid the women. He did return to the scene about half an hour later in a pick-uptruck; he told officers he did not believe the combine had been hit but there was damage and green paint on the Bronson Man's pick-up’s right side.

Bronson Police were first on the scene because the only available officer was a Branch County Sheriff's Office deputy in Coldwater. No Michigan State Police troopers were available for the call.

A second BCSO deputy responded shortly ate the accident occurred, followed closely by two LifeCare ambulances.

Branch County Road Commission personnel set up barriers and directed traffic around the accident scene along the busy highway for over two hours.

Names of those involved were not released so family could be notified. The accident remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office.